Bu Wei

Fortunately, Ning Buwei quickly reinforced the concealment barrier with two more layers.

That shell slowly put on its clothes, wrapping the collar tightly, the whole shell exuding an air of reproach.

Ning Buwei sneered, “Hypocrite.”

The shell: “……”

A mixture of relief and a hint of disappointment was transmitted back to Chu Jun.

The martial uncle, whose face hadn’t fully darkened yet: “……”

This wisp of divine consciousness must have gone mad.

****

After submitting the registration form, Feng Zizhang went to buy three baked flatbreads for Jiang Yizheng.

Jiang Yizheng was munching on the freshly baked flatbreads. They were crispy on the outside and tender inside, with thin skin and full filling. One bite released a burst of fragrant oil, making her very satisfied.

Feng Zizhang walked beside her, smelling the aroma, and even felt a bit tempted.

However, he had already reached Foundation Establishment, so eating ordinary food was at most just to satisfy cravings, with no real benefit. He shifted his gaze away, “Xiao Jiang, there’s the Wujin Square ahead, want to go take a look?”

Jiang Yizheng said softly, “How many spirit stones do we have left?”

Feng Zizhang choked, “… A few dozen low-grade ones, I guess.”

They both fell into silence.

“But Yijian Peak provides food and lodging, at least we won’t starve in the future,” Jiang Yizheng forced herself to cheer up, “And I heard from the senior that Yijian Peak now only has Xiao Shan’s mother in charge. With our connections, we should be fine in the future.”

Feng Zizhang said absent-mindedly, “Connections?”

“Li Chengfeng is our father, Xiao Shan is our brother, so Xiao Shan’s mother is—”

“Our mother?” Feng Zizhang finished in shock.

“…Our relative,” Jiang Yizheng took a bite of the flatbread, “Zizhang, get a grip. Not everyone is as kind and gentle as our father. From what father said, this lady has a cold personality and isn’t easy to get along with. It’s fine for her to accept Xiao Shan as her own son, but it might be difficult for us two adopted ones.”

Feng Zizhang said with a wooden face, “Our father is kind and gentle?”

Jiang Yizheng nodded vigorously, “He doesn’t hit or scold us, and father gave me another Jade Spirit Pill when he came back.”

“Another?” Although Feng Zizhang was fortunate enough to have received one before and was forced to eat it, he looked at Jiang Yizheng with envy, “Father favors girls over boys, I didn’t get one.”

“Hmm, check your storage ring,” Jiang Yizheng said, “I found mine in my storage ring.”

“Eh? He didn’t give it to you directly?” Feng Zizhang was surprised.

Jiang Yizheng said softly, “Father is tough on the outside but soft on the inside, and he’s also shy. If you point it out, he might get upset.”

“It’s really here!” Feng Zizhang took out a Jade Spirit Pill from his storage ring, his eyes wide.

Jiang Yizheng quickly covered it and pushed it back into the storage ring, “Hide it quickly, be careful not to let others see.”

Feng Zizhang put the Jade Spirit Pill away safely, looked around suspiciously, and whispered, “Last time I ate one, I almost broke through, but I suppressed it.”

Jiang Yizheng sighed, “I don’t seem to have much change… but my strength did increase a bit.”

As they were talking, they just passed by the entrance of the Wujin Square. A few people walked out, and the man in red at the back, tall with ordinary features, was putting two small bags of rice porridge into his storage ring. Jiang Yizheng couldn’t help but look at him twice.

“Ouch!” Feng Zizhang stumbled as someone bumped into him. Jiang Yizheng quickly steadied him.

“Don’t you watch where you’re going?” The person who bumped into Feng Zizhang glared at them irritably.

“I’m sorry,” Feng Zizhang apologized, even though his arm hurt badly.

“He was the one who bumped into us—” Jiang Yizheng protested, but Feng Zizhang grabbed her arm, signaling her to be quiet.

“What do you mean?” The person, wearing the standard white robe with black gauze of the Wushi Sect, frowned and forcefully pushed Jiang Yizheng.

“Are you alright, miss?” Someone from behind steadied Jiang Yizheng.

Jiang Yizheng turned around to see a handsome male cultivator, also wearing Wushi Sect clothes, but with a completely different demeanor.

This cultivator smiled gently at Jiang Yizheng, then looked at the disciple who had pushed her and said, “Senior Brother Shen Ze, these two fellow cultivators meant no harm.”

“It’s none of your business!” Shen Ze sneered. Four or five more Wushi Sect disciples came out of the Wujin Square and stood behind him.

“Well, if it isn’t Lu Shen, always chasing after that cook,” someone snickered. “This female cultivator is far worse than the cook. Can’t get the cook, so you’re chasing her instead?”

Lu Shen frowned. Shen Ze walked over and put his arm around Lu Shen’s shoulders, smiling maliciously, “Junior Brother Lu, listen to your senior brother’s advice. Don’t waste your time on love and such. As a Wushi Sect disciple, you should focus on cultivation. This female cultivator is so ugly and has sticky fingers, she’s not worthy of you.”

Lu Shen stumbled under Shen Ze’s grip. Shen Ze raised an eyebrow and pushed him to the back. The other disciples laughed as they grabbed Lu Shen, preventing him from coming forward.

“You’re being too disrespectful!” Feng Zizhang pulled Jiang Yizheng behind him, trying to put on a brave face. “Casually commenting on others’ appearances, is this how Wushi Sect disciples are taught!?”

But his unsteady breath only invited mockery from the crowd opposite.

Jiang Yizheng was about to pick up the fallen flatbread, but before she could touch it, someone stepped on it. Shen Ze looked down at her, “Hurry up and return what you stole!”

Jiang Yizheng straightened up, her face grim, “When did I steal anything from you?”

“Huh, caught red-handed and still denying?” Shen Ze said harshly, “You bumped into me earlier and stole two of my Jade Spirit Pills!”

“You’re lying!” Feng Zizhang shouted angrily, “Those were ours to begin with!”

“Heh, yours?” Shen Ze smirked, “You two unaffiliated cultivators, with neither talent nor cultivation, how could you possibly have treasures like Jade Spirit Pills?”

The words “Jade Spirit Pills” seemed to attract attention. Many passing cultivators and those browsing in the Wujin Square gathered around to watch the commotion.

“Jade Spirit Pills are heaven-grade pills, you might not even see them at auction…”

“My master spent over a million spirit stones to get one, which was used to save my troublemaking junior brother…”

“Looks like the Wushi Sect is really wealthy, these disciples casually having two of them, wow.”

“Maybe they really belong to these two unaffiliated cultivators.”

“How could these two afford Jade Spirit Pills?”

The surrounding cultivators whispered among themselves. Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng were surrounded by the Wushi Sect disciples, who clearly intended to take the Jade Spirit Pills from them, trying to force them to hand them over voluntarily.

This was Huiyuan City at the foot of Wushi Sect, where Wushi Sect disciples were everywhere. As the saying goes, a strong dragon can’t suppress a local snake, but now both the strong dragon and the local snake were on the same side, leaving them with no chance of winning.

Feng Zizhang deeply regretted taking out the Jade Spirit Pill on the street, attracting covetous eyes. Jiang Yizheng, no longer dependent on others, was very defiant, “These were given to us by our father!”

“Haha, your father?” Shen Ze mocked, “Who is your father that he can casually give out Jade Spirit Pills? If I reluctantly agree to be his son-in-law, can he give me a bottle?”

“Shut up!” Feng Zizhang was furious and about to draw his sword, but a disciple behind Shen Ze pushed the sword back into its scabbard.

“Senior Brother Shen is the chief disciple of the Shangong Department. Even inner disciples would think twice before confronting him,” the disciple smirked, “Didn’t you two register with Wushi Sect earlier?”

“Yes, they were going to be menial workers,” someone shouted from behind, “Look, I have their registration forms here!”

Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng’s faces instantly changed.

“Give those back to us!” Feng Zizhang tried to grab them but was kicked to the ground.

“Heh, Junior Brother Qi is in charge of recruiting menial workers for the Lishang Pavilion,” Shen Ze smiled, “Junior Brother, they probably don’t want to register anymore. Give it back to them.”

The disciple holding the registration forms walked up to them. Jiang Yizheng reached out to take them, but he easily dodged her.

“Rip!”

The two registration forms were torn in half.

“Junior Brother, you’re so careless,” Shen Ze said in mock reproach, “But it doesn’t matter. They’re thieves anyway, they can’t join Wushi Sect.”

“Stop slandering us! Those Jade Spirit Pills are ours!” Jiang Yizheng shouted angrily.

“Where’s your proof?” Shen Ze sneered.

“What proof do you have?” Feng Zizhang gritted his teeth.

“Heh, quibbling,” Shen Ze scoffed, “Take them to the Shangong Department!”

These Wushi Sect disciples were either at the peak of Foundation Establishment or in the Golden Core stage. With their numbers and strength, Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng were no match. They were quickly subdued and taken away.

The crowd of onlookers, with nothing left to see, quickly dispersed.

A gust of wind blew the torn registration forms to the feet of the man in red robes.

He bent down to pick up the pieces of paper, lowering his eyes to read the writing:

Feng Zizhang, 24 years old, Talent: Mid-grade B, Foundation Establishment Stage 2. 

Jiang Yizheng, 18 years old, Talent: Low-grade C, Qi Condensation Stage 6. 

Application intention: Menial worker at Yijian Peak. 

Family member: Father, Li Chengfeng.

His gaze lingered on the three characters “Li Chengfeng” for a moment, a look of confusion appearing on his face.

There were two more children?

****

While “Li Chengfeng” himself was playing with a knife.

He tapped the hilt of the Suzaku knife in his palm. After several shrieks of ghosts, a remnant soul struggled out of the hilt. Just as it tried to escape, it was firmly bound by a soul-binding array glowing with blood light.

From the remnant soul, one could vaguely see Dulu’s face full of resentment. Trapped in the array, he stared at Ning Buwei intently, as if wanting to devour his flesh and blood.

“Ning—Cheng—Feng—” Dulu’s voice was hoarse. He tried to break free from the soul-binding array several times but was tightly restrained by the blood ropes.

Ning Buwei tugged at the corner of his mouth, “I ask, you answer, or I’ll search your soul. Your choice.”

“Even if I tell you… will you let me go?” Dulu laughed eerily.

“Of course not,” Ning Buwei sat in a chair, twirling the Suzaku knife hilt in his hand. “But I’ll consider letting you die more quickly.”

“Hmph,” Dulu sneered.

“How did you escape from Linjiang City?” Ning Buwei asked him.

Although he had forcibly used the backlash array at that time, he was confident that there was nothing wrong with the array and it should have completely annihilated Dulu. Yet the other’s remnant soul had appeared again in Yunzhong Sect.

“Naturally, someone helped me,” Dulu was clearly in pain within the soul-binding array, constantly struggling in agony, but to no avail.

“Who?” Ning Buwei put the knife hilt on the table and walked to the front of the array.

“Hahaha… who…” Dulu laughed heartily, “Someone you would never imagine! You were deceived! I was deceived! We were all deceived! Hahaha…We, we were too stupid, too stupid!”

Ning Buwei’s face darkened, “Who was it?”

Dulu’s laughter stopped abruptly, his voice tinged with confusion, “I don’t know.”

Ning Buwei narrowed his eyes, “He instigated you to steal the Linglong bone and then rescued you from Linjiang City, yet you don’t know?”

Dulu laughed hoarsely, “Linglong bone… Linglong bone, it’s all because of the Linglong bone… If not for the Linglong bone, the Ning family wouldn’t have been wiped out. Why did Ning Xingyuan have to bring it out…Why did he have to bring it out…”

Ning Buwei’s expression changed, “Ning Xingyuan was related to the Linglong bone!?”

“Of course! Of course!” Dulu said hatefully, “It’s all because of Ning Xingyuan, everything is because of him! Why… why did he have to bring it out… Otherwise, the Ning family wouldn’t have been targeted! I advised him! I advised him! But he was bewitched and insisted on bringing it out! He couldn’t even use it! Bringing it out would only cause trouble—”

“—Look! Chengfeng, look! Look what has become of the Ning family! I didn’t mean to kill him… He was my master… How could I want to kill him, but he wanted my life! No one believed me! No one believed me!!”

“Your Ning family brought destruction upon yourselves! You deserve it! Deserve it! He killed himself! I didn’t kill him at all—Ugh!”

He was suddenly grabbed by the throat and pressed into the array, unable to make a sound, staring at the person in front of him with a terrified expression.

“What exactly happened back then?” Ning Buwei stared at him coldly.

Dulu grinned, “You finally ask? Didn’t Yan Jinshou force you to take a poisonous oath? Didn’t you swear to the Heavenly dao that you would never investigate the Ning family’s affairs in this life?”

Ning Buwei’s grip suddenly tightened, he said harshly, “Don’t mention her to me!”

“Heh… She’s your master, why can’t I mention her?” Dulu’s eyes on the remnant soul were full of mocking laughter, “I killed Ning Xingyuan, but how are you any better—Ning Chengfeng!”

“You don’t investigate the Ning family’s affairs, is it because you can’t or you dare not!?”

Ning Buwei lifted the remnant soul from the array, “I gave you a chance.”

Dulu suddenly began to struggle in terror, “No, you can’t do this! You can’t search my soul! The Ning family forbids soul searching! This is the family law—”

“The Ning family is long gone.” Ning Buwei’s gaze was cold and solemn. He made a hand seal with one hand and forcefully pressed it against the remnant soul’s forehead.

Dulu’s memories were rather unremarkable.

He was originally a small beggar in Ning City of Xun Prefecture, begging on the streets daily. By chance, he was brought back to the Ning Mansion by Ning Xingyuan, supposedly as a personal attendant, but in reality, it was just an excuse to let him stay at the mansion.

He entered the Ning Mansion at twelve, became Ning Xingyuan’s personal disciple at twenty-four, and was taught by Ning Xingyuan ever since.

Until one year, during his travels outside the mansion, he encountered danger and accidentally entered a secret realm, where he happened to meet Ning Xingyuan.

Ning Xingyuan looked surprised to see him but didn’t stop him from accompanying him.

Ning Buwei, from Dulu’s perspective, looked up to see a grand gate stretching before him. The gate was inlaid with countless precious gold, silver, and jewels, looking… quite gaudy.

Three large characters were written on the gate in an elaborate style – “Floating Sky Realm”.

Then all the images became blurred and flashed by, and when things became clear again, Dulu had returned to the Ning Mansion.

One day’s memory stood out particularly clearly, with especially intense emotions.

Ning Mansion, Danhuan Courtyard.

“Dulu, this is the peach blossom wine the young master wanted. Since you’re back, please take it to him,” a young maid said with a smile, handing him a jar of wine.

Dulu smiled and took it, “The young master doesn’t like peach blossom wine.”

“I wouldn’t know that. You’ve served by the young master’s side for longer, we can’t compare to you,” the young maid gave him a subtle jab, smiling as she left.

Dulu held the jar of peach blossom wine, the smile gradually fading from his face.

He was already Ning Xingyuan’s personal disciple, yet he was still doing the work of a servant.

He carried the peach blossom wine to the front hall but didn’t see Ning Xingyuan, so he went around to the study.

On the corridor to the study, he caught a glimpse of the child Ning Xingyuan had brought back some days ago. Reportedly, he was a young master from the Ning family in Chen City, Shangzhou, Xun Prefecture. After his branch family was wiped out, he was taken by Ning Fan from Canzhou to cultivate the Heartless Dao. Ning Xingyuan had gone to great lengths to bring him back.

(TL: Heartless Dao=ruthless path/path of ruthlessness)

“Chengfeng,” he called out to the child from the corridor.

The child standing among the nine-petal lotus flowers had black hair and snow-white skin, like a sesame rice dumpling that had leaked its filling. Hearing the call, he raised his head, his big watery eyes staring unblinkingly at Dulu, a flower petal still in his mouth, not yet swallowed.

“It’s snowing outside, go play inside,” Dulu couldn’t help but smile, “Remember to wear a cloak next time you come out.”

The little rice dumpling plucked a nine-petal lotus, then pattered on his short legs towards his room. But he ran too fast, slipped, and fell on the ground.

Because he was wearing thick clothes, he kicked his little legs several times but couldn’t get up.

Dulu put down the peach blossom wine, walked over and picked him up, even patting the snow off his body, smiling, “You should run slower. I’m not going to eat you.”

The child pursed his lips, lowered his head to pluck a petal from the flower in his hand and put it in Dulu’s hand, then ran away without looking back.

Dulu looked down at the flower petal in his hand, curled his lips slightly, then turned back to pick up the peach blossom wine from the corridor. He carelessly tossed the petal to the ground, crushing it under his snow-covered boot.

As he approached the study and was about to knock, he heard an angry shout from inside.

“How many times have I told you this is inappropriate!”

It was the first time Dulu had heard Ning Xingyuan so angry. His hand froze in mid-air for a moment, but he couldn’t resist quietly pushing the door open a crack.

He could only see half of Ning Xingyuan’s back.

“This array… needs someone to sacrifice…” The other person’s voice was muffled, “…Chengfeng…”

“Impossible.” Ning Xingyuan said coldly, “You’d better give up that idea quickly.”

“Someone has to…” The other voice chuckled lowly, “…Dulu?”

Dulu, standing outside the door, suddenly stiffened, cold sweat breaking out on his back.

This time, Ning Xingyuan fell silent.

Dulu felt the cold wind cutting to the bone, his heart turning to ice.

Ning Xingyuan, who had his back to him, suddenly turned around. Their eyes met for a moment, and Dulu, clutching the wine jar, abruptly turned and vanished.

He ran panic-stricken through patches of nine-petal lotus flowers, his face full of confusion and unease.

Ning Xingyuan wanted to use him to sacrifice for the array!

He had to leave quickly!

His foot slipped, and he fell to the ground, spilling peach blossom wine all over himself. The faint fragrance of peach blossoms mixed with the smell of wine melted into the snow. He looked up and saw Ning Chengfeng watching him from among the flowers.

****

The scene suddenly went black. Ning Buwei snapped back to his senses, quickly forming a hand seal to press against Dulu’s remnant soul, but he was a step too late. Dulu’s remnant soul suddenly dissipated within the soul-binding array, and a streak of green light shot out from the array.

The Suzaku broken knife followed closely behind, but it was still a beat too slow, allowing that wisp of green light to escape.

The Suzaku broken knife deeply embedded itself in the window frame of the inn. Ning Buwei walked to the window and pulled out the broken knife, looking at the ashes of Dulu’s remnant soul in the soul-binding array.

It was clear that Dulu’s memories had been tampered with by that wisp of green light, and he hadn’t noticed it at all. Previously at Yijian Peak, it was also this green light that suddenly appeared and attacked him…

This green light seemed to intentionally let him know about these memories within Dulu.

As Ning Buwei pondered the new information, several questions arose in his mind:

If Ning Xingyuan had brought the Linglong bone from the Floating Sky Realm, why had he never heard anything about it during his 16 years in the Ning family? Even in the 500 years since, news about the Linglong bone in the seventeen states was scarce. He had never paid attention to it, and only became interested after hearing that the Chongzheng Alliance valued it greatly.

What was the “sacrifice array” Ning Xingyuan mentioned? Why did it involve him and Dulu?

If Dulu had turned against Ning Xingyuan because he learned he was to be sacrificed for the array, how could he, a Golden Core cultivator, have killed Ning Xingyuan, who was already at the Fusion stage?

If the green light’s purpose was to lead him to investigate what happened to the Ning family 500 years ago—Ning Buwei suddenly froze.

His hand was gently lifted by someone. The Suzaku broken knife in his hand was stained with blood due to his tight grip, dripping steadily.

The shell moved gently, taking the broken knife from his palm and placing it on the table. Then it led him to sit down and took out a bottle of medicinal powder from its bosom.

Ning Buwei instinctively tried to withdraw his hand, but his wrist was firmly held, and he couldn’t pull it back.

Applying the medicinal powder to the wound wasn’t enough; the shell found some cloth strips from somewhere and wrapped them around his hand, neither too tight nor too loose, even tying a pretty bow.

Ning Buwei hadn’t properly bandaged a wound in 500 years. Now, being treated so gently caught him off guard. He didn’t know where to put his bandaged hand, leaving it suspended awkwardly in mid-air.

The shell helplessly supported his hand.

The soft fingertips inadvertently brushed across the back of his hand, leaving a warm sensation.

Ning Buwei abruptly stood up, grabbing the Suzaku broken knife from the table. His tone was stiff as he said, “I’m going to see why those two fools haven’t returned yet.”

Without waiting for the shell to make any other move, he strode out, slamming the door shut behind him.